Japanese women explained

Why do Japanese women generally have shorter and finer eyelashes than Europeans?

Don’t know, but I imagine it is due to Asian hair also being finer, more fragile and more sparse than European

Why do some women put their make up on in the train?

It seems to me there is a lot less of this since the advent of mobile phone TV, so maybe itis more boredom than time saving

Why are there female members of the Jieitai (self-defence force) if they aren’t allowed to take part in combat?

Why aren’t women allowed on combat operations?

Officially, because they could be raped by enemy troopswomen

Why did Japanese women paint their teeth black? Second attempt

“in order to magnify the brightness of their snow-like complexions” Geishas, Berenice Geoffroy-Schneiter, pg 11

When you see women out for coffee, why is there usually one who does most of the talking?

In Japan, even friends have hierachies, and the older etc friend can use that to chatter away and never listen if they are that kind of person. This is even more so when they met because of being in the same PTA etc, especially if conversation gets onto organisational matters

Why are hula and flamenco so popular with Japanese women?

Because dancing gives a sense of femininity and/ or eroticism that is missing from their romance free lives, and hula and flamenco are better than ballroom dancing because no men are necessary. Spanish and Hawaiian are also two great escape fantasies.

Why do gaijin (foreign) guys who could never score at home always link up in Japan?

Popular theories usually mention how sad the average Japanese salaryman is and the gaijin boyfriend being just a fashion accessory, free English conversation partner or novelty item for a Japanese girl to impress her friends with. Other possibilities include the Japanese girlfriend feeling freer due to not being restricted by the Japanese language (no way to say I love you in normal conversation!) and his family being several thousand miles away. I believe the main reason is that the gaijin male quickly convinces himself that he can throw off his lack of success at home, and so he does- pure self-belief.

How do Japanese girls eat a mainly western diet and stack up the donuts and yet mostly stay slim?

Their diet in their first few years of life until they discover creamy pasta and McDonald’s? Genetics? Bulimia? If so, it’s a well hidden secret.

Why do Japanese girls have bendy legs?

Their parents encourage them to stand up too young (the sons are more spoilt so don’t have the same problem)

Why do Japanese girls walk in high heels with their knees bent?

It’s (subconsciously) to stop their hips swinging.

Why do the Japanese, especially girls, stare at foreigners?

As a foreigner, you are outside the system and so people feel free in a way they wouldn’t usually (and being out of the loop, you are free too). Also, staring at guys is not seen as a come on as someone who is interested would act coy and avoid eye contact. In Japan, you can tell when a guy in the office fancies you when they never address you directly during work drinks. Staring at foreign girls could be due to a general obsession with appearance and fashion- although less often, you will see Japanese women staring at other Japanese women who stand out in some way (tall, glamorous, odd etc.).

Why are some Japanese women so precious about their white skin?

Just as in Europe since the Middle Ages, having white skin has been a sign that you are rich enough to not go out and work in the sun. As the sign of wealth is becoming being able to afford to take tropical holidays instead, this is gradually changing.

Why did Japanese women blacken their teeth and why did they stop doing it?

Showing your white teeth was thought to be like showing the white of your bones. The blackening liquid was also thought to preserve the teeth. The practice was outlawed in the Meiji era in order to not offend foreign visitors or more generally to gain their acceptance as a Westernized and therefore equal nation.

Why do some Japanese girls do the “dinosaur walk” with shopping bags on the inside of their elbows rather than in their hands?

The bags would touch the ground otherwise??

Why are some Japanese old ladies so bent over?

Planting rice and- or lack of calcium from a traditional milk-free diet

Why is it okay to wear a tiny mini skirt or hot pants but not stomach, shoulders or cleavage?

Maybe they get used to tiny skirts at school. Legs are also not a big erotic focus in Japan

Why do Japanese women shave their faces?

How did Japan change from a country where the mother-in-law bullies her sons wife to one where the bullying happens the other way round?

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63 Comments

bearaddict said,

dude, these posts are retarded. do you actually know any japanese? because most of this sounds like you making stuff up off the top of your head. these are neither factual nor things japanese commonly think/believe.

alexcase said,

If you’ve never noticed the ugly gaijin with stunning Japanese girlfriends, skinny girls with a stacked up tray in Mr Donuts, bendy legs and bent knees, middle aged women with carrying parasols on their bikes or the dinosaur walk, you are living in a different Japan to me!! All the questions come off forums I have read over the years. Explanations come from:
Gaijin- last one is mine (and fairly obvious to anyone who has ever been “on a roll” of any sort in their lives), others are from conversations with Japanese and/ or gaijin or off forums, with a tiny bit of influence from history books that mention this from the very first Westerners in both the 16th and 19th centuries.
Skinny girls- I don’t know, hence all the question marks
Bendy legs- my mum , who is a nurse
Bent knees- me, but if you look closely at how the Russians and the Japanese are walking in their heels in Roppongi you will soon notice the difference- and those are Japanese who work in the “hospitality trade”
Staring- All mine, no doubt about any of them
Skin- a book I read a couple of years ago, but then it could hardly be coincidence could it. Same thing exists in Thailand, India and North Africa.
Black teeth- Recent book, Donald Ritchie I think, but can’t remember
Dinosaur walk- mine, but not sure, hence the question mark

tekaz said,

i must agree, most of this seems like pure bullshit. i’ve lived in japan for a total of 18 months (both in tokyo and osaka) and most of what i read on here is new to me… i don’t agree with the ugly gaijin getting hot japanese girls theory. i do somewhat agree with the hierarchy while out for coffee theory, i saw a lot of that and experienced that first-hand too. i don’t remember seeing any girls with “bendy” knees or odd-looking walking in high heels; they looked like any other asian girl walking in high heels. the staring thing covers more than just japanese girls; all japanese people who haven’t seen a foreigner before tend to stare. none of this information seems factual or based on anything tangible… besides, any socio-cultural question requires more than just a one-sentence answer. in fact, most require a lot of thinking and first-hand experience in order to properly answer it. that’s just my take on it but i’m quite sure most people would agree.

Casual said,

Oh, but the staring thing…we’re foreigners!!! Of course they will stare!! Also, as for the bendy knees – seiza. In Japan many Japanese grow up sitting on their knees while eating dinner or while watching T.V, thus you have the bowleggedness thing. Less common now than before.

s. said,

goofy looking white trash don’t get hot japanese girls. please stop promoting that myth. they get the the ugly cumbuckets that the rest of japanese society wouldn’t touch with a 50 foot pole, and you know it.

crella said,

How can you miss the ones in high heels? :-) I often think I’ll open a charm school and teach Japanese girls how to walk well in heels (before I get too old to myself, har!)

Bowlegged girls are becoming rarer but there are still quite a few out there. Take a look in the ads for ‘idea shouhin’ or ads in the back of magazines and you’ll see ads for belts to put around the hips to fix bowlegs (‘O kayaku’ as the space between the shins is in the shape of an ‘O’). Cable TV channels also hawk sneakers they claim will cure it. Sitting seiza is one cause.

The phrase ‘dinosaur walk’ totally cracked me up, I’d wanted a name for that for a while, I didn’t know what to call it! I see it a lot in Ashiya and other tony neighborhoods, I think it’s to protect those 18,000 nail art treatments and to leave hands free for texting, if my observations are worth anything :-)

I have no affiliation with site admin ( I just enjoy the site) but I’d like to put in my 2 yen and say, disagree with anything you like, but the nastiness seems unwarranted to me………….

jim tanner said,

Interesting questions. I am surprised at the comments of not noticing the bendy legs or strange walking in high heels. I am new to Japan, only here on holidays for 5 weeks but I noticed the bent legs and strange walking in high heels in the first days. However, I didn’t notice people staring at me any more than anywhere else.

Can’t see that sitting in Seiza would create the bad legs as many men should have theproblem but I have seen it mainly in women. My wife is Japanese and is aware of the bow-leggedness but couldn’t offer an explanation. I don’t think the ‘standing too early’ explanation is correct. My wife tells me many women do the pigeon toed stuff to look cute as supposedly japanese men find it cute and girly

Japanese mother-in-laws still bully the sons wife from what my wife told me and has experienced. I would guess they don’t think anyone will ever be good enough for their spoilt, precious, neutered sons. Thanks for trying to answer the questions.

Interesting… Some I agree with, some I dont. For example, part right about gaijin boyfriends having more confidence. Also, Japanese society is changing. Girls are becoming more independent. But this is not passing over to the men, who want a wife who will cook/clean/etc like mother did. However, gaijin men tend to be more accepting of a woman having a job. A Japanese colleague of mine got pressured into marriage, and since has had to quit her job. Also, if a Japanese woman does something nice, a Japanese man, quite often, takes it as a given. We tend to be more grateful.

With regards the bendy legs, I thought that was down to the correct seiza style of sitting on your knees so much, and maybe a lighter in calcium diet…

Eyelashes. Well, have to totally disagree. Japanese tend to have thicker hair than western hair. However, the eyelashes look smaller (They arent) because Japanese have double-hooded eyes. Thats what gives them the almond shape. The extra fold of skin helps hide the lashes, making them look shorter!

crella said,

“Can’t see that sitting in Seiza would create the bad legs as many men should have the problem but I have seen it mainly in women.

Men, at any funeral, or other formal occasion, quickly switch from seiza to agura-gaeri (sitting cross-legged) while the women remain sitting seiza. Flower arranging lessons are all seiza, as are tea ceremony lessons. Women spend a lot more time sitting seiza than men do. One other cause seems to be inadequate musculature.

The girls in high heels just haven’t been taught, mothers here don’t coach their daughters….and they can’t practice in the house either.

alexcase said,

“Japanese tend to have thicker hair than western hair” I believe it is a scientific fact that Europeans have more follicles on their head, with Asians in the middle and Africans the least- which just goes to show that it doesn’t make much difference in actual appearance I guess!

All good points as ever Crella. Still not convinced that seiza is a major cause on its own because I see if anything more bendy legs in girls in their 20s than in their mothers’ generation (or maybe I’m just more likely to notice their legs??) but obviously the amount of seiza is going down. I think you might have a point with the musculature- girls don’t do much exercise of any sort nowadays.

threenorns said,

re hair – “thicker hair” does not refer to the quantity of hair follicles but to the diameter of the hair shaft. asians have fewer in quantity but each hair is thicker (by up to 50%) and rounder than european hair (which is why it’s dead straight – the more ovoid the shaft is in diameter, the more it will curl; “nappy” hairs are almost ribbon-like instead of stringlike).

ohiokimono said,

“Why did Japanese women paint their teeth black? ” – this is actually an ancient tradtion that is both an issue of beauty and religion. You can find it most commonly documented in historical imperial courts…

The blackening of the teeth was considered beautiful once – because teeth are exposed bone. In buddism, and other asian religions bone, and exposed bones are considered unclean. blackening ones teeth, covered up that exposed bone.

Some maiko (young geisha in training) – continue this traidtion when they are about to graduate from being a maiko into being a geisha. Oiran, and Tayuu were also known to have blackened their teeth.

At the time, it was also common to shave they eyebrows and redraw them higher on the forehead, and pluck the hair on your head back to give you a larger forehead – again, beauty.

Simon said,

Interesting points, but having been in Japan for 20 years, I thought the bendy legs are due to girls traditionally being required to sit on their legs when kneeling – this extends the “sartorial” muscle…(like tailors used to have when they sat on their legs in history ).

The “funny walking” on high heels or shoes generally is due because this gait is deemed elegant (from when Japanese woman walk with tabe in kimonos…it’s the only way to keep the geta on !)

Asiangirl said,

Actually, when you mean Asian hair, you mean Chinese, Japanese, Korean (being politically correct here but you get the point). India is also part of Asia but most Indians have a lush growth of hair and have a full head of hair till old age. Also, European hair tends to thin out early on but Asian hair tends to ‘stay on’ if you notice a 40+ Asian man and a 40+ European.

G$ said,

I don’t think this is true. I live in China, I’ve been to Japan. All Old people’s hair thins out as they age. This includes Indian women as well, whom I have noticed seem to have a rather more innate tendency towards female-patterned baldness than people of other races. I read an article comparing the hair of different races and if I remember correctly Asians have the densest hair of any race, it grows the fastest, and is the straightest. Blacks have the least dense hair, it grows the slowest and is the least straight. Whites are in the middle on the density and growth rate, but the hair straightness varies due to background from straight to curly. I am discounting male-patterned baldness from this, because I reckon that must not be what you are getting at.

Brie Lotts said,

African Americans hair grows just as fast as any other races hair. Our hair texture is curlier and dryer, therefor it breaks off easier. I’m African American and my hair grows over half a inch per month. I measure it because i am growing it out chemical free..

alexcase said,

Not sure what my wife would think about me stopping young women in Harajuku to ask them questions…

Asiangirl

I guess it’s also Southeast Asians (and “lush” is a bit of a loaded term for what is basically a pure discussion of numbers), but good point about forgetting to include Indians. As I keep telling my wife, in the UK British Asian doesn’t include Japanese, and in America (where the magazine article I read came from) Asians doesn’t usually include Indians

Naomi said,

Wow, do you know anything about asians at all>? Our hair is a lot thicker and darker than caucasian hair. Also the way you’ve described this… Japan in not some magical fantasy land. The bow legs.. I’d say its a mix of genetics and the fact that standing like that makes you look cute. Dinosaur walk… thats cute. I did that before I visited Japan at an age before I carried a hand bag. I guess its more convinient and also the strap length of the bag.
Source: Half Japanese

Julia said,

Rattlegrass said,

I lived in an Amish village for years. Amish kid’s stare at foreigners (non-Amish). I lived in Japan for a year. I’m a 6 foot tall Caucasian and despite the fact that i did indeed “stick out”, I wasn’t stared at. The Japanese are very polite. Actually, that’s an understatement. Staring is impolite there as it is here I imagine.

Jamesrichard1948@hotmail.co.uk said,

I was in Japan recently for the first time touring. If you went to some famous Buddist Temples around midday, there would be hundreds of young teenage schoolkids with their teachers on educational trips I assume.
I could not help but notice that a high proportion of the young girls were bow legged. I am the type of person who would not normally notice this sort of thing but they were in their hundreds.

krayzie said,

Anyone who has not seen the bent in knees or dinosaur walk needs to head down to harajuku/omotesando on a weekend and pay attentions, A lot of japanese girls are pigeon toed and do walk this way (knees turn inward), My wife and I were walking behind a japanese woman walking down the hill towards harajuku station and trying to figure out why they walk that way. I don’t know about the above comment of walking to early though, I believe its more of a lack of confidence thing.

Kana said,

My gf is half japanese, and spent most of her time growing up in North America. If the theory of them sitting on their legs is true, than my gf shouldn’t be bow legged, but she is. There is also evidence that Jpanese carry a unique type gene that is only mostly found in Japan, may be that’s what causes that leg structure. Since we know everything to do with genes are due to evolution, may be their tradition and mindset has made their genes to mutate that way. Just a theory lol

crella said,

steve s said,

i just met a girl from japan(2 weeks) who is around mid 20’s. i am considerably older(early 40’s). she keeps walking very close to me, body to body – side to side…but no hand holding etc and nothing emotionally closer than i enjoy being with her and she me. how should i interpret this? this is new to me and i don’t know if there’s some kind of protocol to this.

alexcase said,

Holding hands is certainly less common in Japan, though not nearly as rare as kissing in public. In Norwegian Wood (book, haven’t seen the film yet) they walk around with her hand in his coat pocket (without his hand) instead, though that isn’t exactly typical either.

Sorry I can’t be any more help. Women of all nationalities are still a mystery to me…

alexcase said,

PI said,

My opinion about the Japanese being bow-legged is due the way they were carried by their mother in a baby carriage hang over their shoulders like a knapsack. Notice how the baby’s legs wide opened while they are sitting in that carriage the entire time until their mother put them down to sleep or to play. The baby’s bones are so soft that if they are not properly sitting, the growth of their bones will be affected. In my country the baby’s legs esp the knee area are massage gently so that the knees will meet together and will be straight when they are growing up. Also, the babies are carried sitting on the arms, so that the legs are close together, unlike when you let them sit in the baby carriages.

About those Japanese girls walking with bent legs while walking. Well, they love wearing high heels, and if you are wearing heels and not so accustomed to wearing it, it’s like you are trying to balance your entire weight on that two little pieces of pointed woods. Also, Tokyo and surrounding areas and stairs of the subways, aren’t really the place to wear high heels, I am so sure in no time these ladies will be suffering a lot of pain in their foot arch, their heels, their ankles and knees especially.

Mark said,

I’ve noticed the bendy legs thing too. I think in general many of the japanese just have short very stocky legs, and for some reason with the women, many of them are knock-knee’d. However, ti wouldnt surprise me that many of the young japanese girls walk this way on purpose…or what we’d call ‘dink toe’d’ because they think it makes them look cute…like a little girl.

As for Japanese women with white guys, it’s no secret that many asian women see white guys as status symbols. Any white guy is ‘handsome’ to them, just cuz he’s white! For a white guy to go to Japan and meet a woman is a piece of cake.

crella said,

“My opinion about the Japanese being bow-legged is due the way they were carried by their mother in a baby carriage hang over their shoulders like a knapsack. Notice how the baby’s legs wide opened while they are sitting in that carriage the entire time until their mother put them down to sleep or to play.

crella said,

Michael said,

“Why are there female members of the Jieitai (self-defence force) if they aren’t allowed to take part in combat?”

One could just as easily ask this about the American military and any number of other such organizations. So far as I know, it started in the American case as a means of freeing up men for the front lines in wartime with expansion of allowed roles coming from feminist pressure (right or wrong), increased needs and an awareness that a second X-chromosome isn’t going to protect you in a firefight.

zubatto said,

lived in tokyo 6 years. I couldn’t score over there neither and nobody has never been staring at me, I was like total invisible. sincerly I am not bad looking etc but I had to get used to be totally ignored and to deal with automated humans.

Justine said,

Rebecca said,

As for the walking style, most girls/women 10-75 wear heels most of the time. When you wear heels you naturally want to bend your legs to balance, but most Westerners correct this and also don’t wear heels all the time. I think Japanese shoes also position your posture so you want to put your weight forward and bend your knees more.

The pigeon-toed thing I think comes from trying to be cute, because the boys don’t have a problem with it. In junior high school girls still are very active in sports, etc. but I still see a lot of them with their toes pointed inward. Who knows.

alexcase said,

The heels are particularly extreme this year, but there have also been plenty of years since I’ve been here where flat shoes (or wellies) have been the thing, and that has always been a substantial fashion subset. Also, there are plenty of imported shoes, e.g. Camper. As in your last paragraph, I’m tending towards the cultural aspect as the main explanation rather than anything physical.

Bill said,

Gaijin getting Japanese girlfriends with ease is true. Gaijin getting beautiful Japanese girlfriends or wives is not true. It tends to be less attractive Japanese girls who want a foreign boyfriend or husband. The beautiful Japanese girls marry handsome Japanese boys. No different from home.

mike34 said,

I find Japanese women to be maintenance free, but the younger women are goofy as hell. They dont speak English, they replay what they memorize or what they learned in a book to you, and its absolutely annoying and impossible to have a conversation. Their goofy laugh is anything but sexy. They have some very introverted habits and opinions about foriengers. All said, I dont like Japanese women, and I dont find them attractive.Westernized Chinese women are much easier. Japanese are maintenance free, but who wants a robot for a partner? They are unable to express their feelings, which is essential in a relationship. They live in some kind of an airy, dreamy world, where papa/mama will be there forever to care for them. Their role in life is limited, so they complain or fight with other Japanese women in the park and self esteem is looking kawaii, thats about it. Its just a real shitty deal to be a Japanese woman I guess.

crella said,

Mili said,

I am amazed to read everything written above…
I am living in japan and married to a japanese man for more than 3 years now. I do have many friends (women and men), and I think they are caring people and emotional just like us back in america. Not robot!
They cry, laugh and get angry just like us.
The only difference is that, outside of their house, they wont be as demonstrative with each other. It is the way japanese society is.

About japanese man, my husband as well as many of his friends do cook and clean. This generation has changed a lot so, everybody should stop with their stereotype hahaha. I have a japanese friend who’s wife has a better salary so, he is planning to be a stay at home dad. I do know some japanese men who want housewives but I believe that japanese women have more freedom today to pick the life they really want.

crella said,

mark lockey said,

Hi, most of these question are precise, they are not bullshit even the ones about them blackening thier teeth, although the answer for that question is wrong mostly everything asked is correct. I’ve lived in japan for 10 years I am now 27, married, child. In fact the only reason I found this is because I typed in google “why do japanese girls walk with thier feet facing inwards” because my dauhhter is two and showing signs of walking like that and I dont want that. If you are ever in Osaka close to Nanba, hit m up, lets have a drink. Peace.

Mark said,

The apparent knee malformation is mostly genetic and mostly sex linked. The extent in each individual is most certainly exacerbated by kneeling with shins splayed laterally instead of heels under buttocks. Once a threshold is reached in comfort whereby splayed is preferred, the trending becomes set in the socketing and ligaments of the developing knee and such kneeling becomes the relaxed standard. I suspect (yes, just opinion) in (such) a long term conforming population the phenotype (appearance of the lower leg and corresponding gait) became at least subconsciously a feminine flag and gained positive selection feedback in the gene pool.
While ethnic Koreans and Japanese essentially have the same genes in their respective gene pools, the ratios of certain genes are different. Men have the same genes, but it doesn’t manifest appreciably due to most factors being sex linked and the multitude of developmental differences between the sexes. Still, a hormonally challenged developing male can have the same problem.
I have seen this in many ethnicities around the world. It’s not limited to Japan at all. My South Asian (Sri Lankan) step daughter has it as did a teen crush of English ethnicity however, these were notable to me as they were unusual. In Japan, it is not.

Blackening of teeth has a much simpler answer. Because ‘The Emperor’s China did it’ and it found appeal in the caste minded Japanese. While they’re happy to rationalise reasons why it’s good to do it or bad not to do it, that’s the answer of most significance.

@Mark Lockey
point it out to your doctor and ask for a specialist consultation to get the best information you can. Essentially I suspect it’ll boil down to stressing her physically to oppose the developmental trends her genes demand. Hard work. Or not… as it may well be summarily dismissed as ‘not a problem’.